First ever 'Pop-Up Church' of it's kind launches in South Wales

The first ever 'Pop-Up Church' of it's kind was staged by parishioners in South Wales, UK. by the local parish of Tonyrefail recently and has been hailed a great success.

Echoing an idea often used by retailers to drum up interest in their business, Tonyrefail parish decided to take the church out into the community during a recent local community festival, bringing the church to those who would perhaps not normally engage with it.

The 'Pop-Up Church' was set up at the towns leisure centre and offered information about forthcoming plans for the parish church 'St David’s', as well as interactive stories, arts, crafts and music for all ages.

Manned throughout the day by members of the parish who also circulated in the rest of the festival, chatting to local visitors.

Church warden Maureen Harris, of the Tonyrefail parish, said: “The pop-Up Church was successful in being a place of encounter for festival goers who would not normally engage with the church.

“It went really well and we spoke to up to 60 people during the day with lots of children also coming to do craft with us.

“It was successful on a number of fronts in that it reminded the community that we are a lively welcoming church.”

She added: “We were able to engage with a whole range of people and we were able to tell the story of Pentecost in a fun way.

“People were interested and commented how nice it was to see the Church engaged in this way. ‘Oh you’re from pop-up church, what a good idea,’ was the general response we received.”

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